


Dreamscape: Worlds Unbound

by Original_Teen



Category: No Fandom
Genre: F/M, Original Fiction, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-06
Updated: 2015-04-13
Packaged: 2018-03-10 18:40:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,514
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3299774
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Original_Teen/pseuds/Original_Teen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Just read it, you'll like it ;)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. I

DREAMSCAPE

chapter one 

I woke up to my alarm blaring at 6:00. I reached over and hit the snooze button. I took a breath before pulling myself out of bed and getting ready for the last day of the school year. I managed to get a quick shower in before the alarm clock went off again. This time I unplugged it from the wall.  
I wasn't too excited about school. It wasn't like I popular or admired. I got dressed and took my time walking through the house and into the living room. I sat on the couch and channel surfed. My mom was already up and getting ready for work. She sat on the couch with me.  
I knew she would try to talk to me, so I shut the tv off and looked in her direction.  
"Donovan, I know you don't want to go to school. But it's literally, your last day until you're completely done with school.".  
"I know, Mom.", I said. She continued.  
"I know things are hard for us right now.".

My dad had been murdered shortly after the start of my senior year. My life went downhill from there. I was diagnosed with depression, anxiety and insomnia. I basically lost all inspiration in life. My grades dropped and I became withdrawn. Most of my friends stopped talking to me. I was bulled.  
I looked up at my mom. She was fighting back tears. I reached over and gave her a hug so she wouldn't cry, but of course she did. I let go of her and waited until she let me go. Then she wiped her eyes and stood up.  
"Okay, you've gotta start walking to school now, and I have to leave for work.". She grabbed her keys and gave me another quick hug. "I'm sorry Donovan, I just miss your dad.". She walked out the door and left shortly.  
"Yeah, well I miss him too.", I said to the empty house.  
I made sure I had my house key before I left the house. I made my way through the neighborhood until I got to my friend Thom's. I walked up to his front door and knocked once. Thom opened the door.  
"Hey Don, gimme a minute. I'll be right out.".  
I waited on his front porch until he opened the door and walked out of his house. We continued on the way to school. I put in my headphones and listened to music on the way. We walked down the streets until we got to an intersection. Before I could cross, Thom nudged me. I looked up and took off my headphones.  
"Hey man, what's that?", Thom asked as he pointed down the road. I looked over to where he was pointing.  
Military transport trucks were driving down the street in a convoy. There were four of them, all hauling huge cargo boxes covered in tarps. They drove down the street and towards the abandoned mall in town.  
"Hey, why do you think they're at the mall?", I asked. Thom just stood and shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe they're lost.". We continued walking. After a while, Thom asked, "So what's your plan for tomorrow?".  
"What do you mean?", I asked, puzzled. He explained himself.  
"Tomorrow, being the first day of summer. You wanna go to the pool tomorrow? It opened last week.".  
I took a deep breath and told him the bad news.  
"Thom. I'm moving next week.". He stopped walking.  
"Wait, what?".  
"Yeah, my mom wants us to move. We're moving to some small neighborhood outside of the city. It's cheaper, and she wants us to get a fresh start.".  
Thom was silent before exhaling loudly and then he said, "Well shit.".  
We were walking and then he asked me, "How do you feel about it?". And honestly, I didn't know what to tell him.  
Yes, I wanted to stay and enjoy the summer with Thom. But I'd heard my mom talking about her bills and it was a lot easier if we moved as soon as possible. Mom had planned on moving us in the middle of the school year, but then she decided against it, because she wanted me to continue my last year of school without having to transfer and make new friends.  
Because if anybody has problems making friends, it's me. My only real friend I had was Thom. We'd been friends since second grade and we're practically inseperatable. We'd had so many sleepovers over the years and his mom treated me like a second son.  
Then when my father died, I remember going over to Thom's about two weeks after what happened. His mom and dad were in their living room. His mom had given me a hug and told me it was okay if i cried about it. His dad and I had a talk that night, and he told me if I had any questions or needed anything, he would help me out the best he could.  
We were brothers essentially, and now I was moving away from it all.

After I found the words, I said, "I do wanna change. Stop being the way I am now. Get better.".  
"You'll still be able to come visit, right?", he asked. I shrugged. "Not until one of us gets a car.", I said. We crossed the road and made our way onto the school courtyard. Huddled masses of students waited near the doors. The school didn't open the main doors until it was time to start the breakfast period before school.  
"I guess we got here earlier than expected.", I said. Thom and I sat on a bench and he started talking about anime again.  
Anime was a constant topic of debate between us. I watched a couple series, like Dragonball Z and Naruto, but Thom watched any and all.  
"What's your favorite anime?", he asked. I told him, "Dragonball Z". He laughed.  
"What's so funny?", I asked. He then said, "That's like the only one you've watched fully.".  
"Yeah, well I like it, okay?", I said. Thom then said, "Well, you should see Full Metal Alchemist. It's great.".  
"I've seen bits and pieces.", I told him. I was say something else, but then I noticed something out of the corner of my eye.  
There was a group of guys surrounding a sophmore kid I recognized in the halls. He was like a full two feet shorter than everyone else and had red curly hair, and glasses. I didn't know his name.  
"Hey, look over there.", I told Thom. He looked over to them. He stood up.  
"Come on Don, their gonna kick his ass.", he said. I watched as one of the bigger guys knocked the sophmore's books out of his arms. They laughed as he picked his books up.  
"Yeah Thom, I know those guys. I don't wanna get my ass kicked too.".  
"You said you wanted to change! So come on already!", Thom yelled at me.  
What he said had some effect on me, because I found myself standing up with him. I looked over to see the older guys starting to close in around the sophmore. The next thing I know, I find Thom and I running over to the sophmore guy.  
The older guys see us running and stand their ground. Thom and I make it over to them and stand defiantly.  
"What do you want?", the leader of the group said. Thom spoke up. "Well we just saw you gentlemen bothering the little guy, and we decided to see what's up.".  
"Oh really?", another group member asked. He stepped up to Thom and said in his face, "It's none of your fucking buisness". Thom kept his cool and then said, "Well, we're making it ours, aren't we Don?".  
The group looked over at me. On the inside my heart was racing and I didn't know what to expect. But somehow I found the courage to say, "Yeah, yeah we are. So what's it gonna be?".  
I was certain I was gonna get a blackeye for saying it like that, but that's what my mouth said. Apparently it worked, because the group leader just laughed and said, "Whatever. I'm done with this.", before leaving. His posse followed him and left Thom and I alone with the sophmore.  
"Thanks", the sophmore said. I then realized I shared a class with him. "Hey, you've got art in sixth period, right?", I asked him. He looked at me.  
"Yeah, I'm Al. I sat with you once.".  
I felt embarrased I forgot his name. I decided since it was my last day anyway, it wasn't that bad. Thom picked one of Al's books off the ground and handed it to him. Al graciously added it to his book pile he was carrying.  
"You read a lot, huh?", I asked, looking at his books. He nodded.  
"Yeah, mostly anything, really.".  
Suddenly the school bells starting ringing and the students waiting outside slowly started to creep into the building. We walked into the school. Thom and I had the same first period teacher, so we said goodbye to Al and walked to our homeroom class.  
We sat in our seats and waited for the teacher to come inside. He sat at his desk and said, "It's the last day of school for you guys. So just shut up and you won't do any work in my class.". He then went back to reading his newspaper.

Thom and I began trying to figure out how we could still hang out after I moved.  
"Well, you could spend a week at my house, and then i'll spend a week at your house.", he said. I was going to say something, when I heard a voice behind us say, "You two homos having a party?".  
I turned to see who it was.  
It was Keegan. The guy who bullied me at school. Well, one of the guys who bullied me. But Keegan took the prize for worst person ever. He'd beaten me up, had my locker broken into, steal my cellphone, you think of it, he probably did it.  
Of course the school didn't do much about it. Just suspend him for a week. He could never be caught or proven guilty, but everyone knew he did. It was a legal issue.  
"No Keegan, we're planning a lynch mob. You can come.", Thom said. Keegan got angry at that. "You know you're real lucky you're on the football team, Thom. Or I'd kick your ass already.".  
"Why can't you do it now?", Thom asked. Keegan was angry, but then he looked at me and smiled. "Because I like beating up your boyfriend.".  
"Hey, fuck off man, he's not like that!", Thom said, raising his voice slightly. I was beginning to feel like shit, like I usually do, but again, I felt something else this time.  
Thom and Keegan kept hurling insults at each other as I stayed quiet.  
I wasn't sad, or nervous. I was starting to get angry. So i tried to calm myself down using a breathing trick I learned in therapy. Apparently Keegan saw me, and said, "Oh, he can't even breathe correctly now? Fucking idiot.".  
"Shut the fuck up, Keegan", Thom said in a louder tone of voice. The teacher looked up from his paper.  
"Or what?", Keegan asked.  
Then I lost all control and said, "Or I'm gonna finally beat your fucking ass, you stupid fucking prick.".  
I guess I had said it pretty loudly, because people were turning around at their tables, watching us. Keegan looked at me in shock and disgust. He stood up at his table.  
I stood up from my chair and turned around. I was too angry to think straight at this point. The class fell silent. Then I heard our teacher get up and yell, "Just what do you two think you're doing?".  
"Staring contest, sir.", Thom said right off the bat. Then the teacher said, "Well you two need to stop it and sit back down. This is a classroom, not a play ground.". He sat down but kept his eyes on Keegan and I the rest of the class period.  
The bell rang and everyone got up to change classes. As I stood to grab my bag, I heard the teacher say, "Donovan, stay after class.". Everyone started the "ooh" chant but stopped quickly after. The entire class emptied out and new students began taking their seats.  
"What's up, Mr. Thompson?", I asked. He looked at me.  
"I know you and Keegan weren't having a staring contest.". I sighed. "Yeah, I thought you knew what was going on.", I said. Mr. Thompson smiled a bit.  
"Sometimes you've gotta literally stand up to your bullies.". I let out a small laugh before he said, "I'm proud of you Donovan. You came a long way. Now get to class".  
I smiled and walked out of the classroom. Thom was waiting for me.  
"What'd he say?", he asked. I told him and Thom laughed. "Oh man, he knew! He probably would've let you swing on him.".  
"Yeah, maybe", I said. Thom stuck his hand out in front of me. "What?", I asked annoyed. He then said, "You wanna change, right? Go talk to Morgann.".  
Morgann was a girl I had been infatuated with since she moved to our school district in 8th grade. I had never really talked to her before. I always thought she was out of my league.  
And there she was, getting her stuff out of her locker, talking to one of her friends. She was happy and full of life, all smiles and sparkling green eyes. I thought about talking to her.  
"Dude. Just go fucking do it already", Thom said. He grabbed me around the shoulder and made us walk towards her. "Dude, what the hell are you doing?", I asked, as I felt my adrenaline course through my body.  
"Since you won't talk to her, we'll talk to her. I'll talk to her friend. You just focus on her.". I started arguing with him, trying to find a way out.  
"C'mon Thom, we're gonna be late for class.", I begged.  
"It's the last day of school, people are ditching in the halls".  
"It's gonna be awkward, I don't know her.".  
"It's been five years. You know her, she knows of you. You can talk to her.".  
"I don't know what to say!".  
"Just focus on you two. Ignore everything else. Find your center.".

Even if Thom was my only friend, he was still a douche at some times.

We made our ways over to them. Morgann looked at me and smiled nervously, and Thom released me from his grip.  
"Hey", she said to us uncertainly. Thom began smooth talking to Morgann's friend, and immeadiatly they hit it off. As for Morgann and I, not so smoothly.

"Uh, hi.", I said.  
"Hey".  
She giggled a bit, which made me smile.  
"Don't we have third period together?", she asked.  
"Yup.", I said.  
We had third and fourth period together. I didn't correct her.  
We stood nervously in each other's presence for a few seconds.  
"Uh, what class you headed to?", I asked.  
"Trig", she said. She wasn't really into the conversation.  
I nodded. "So, what's your plans for summer?", I asked.  
"Eh, just swimming and working on my tan.".  
"You have a nice tan already", I said. I immeadiatly battered myself for such a stupid line.  
"Oh, thanks. I guess.", she said. I could tell she was mildly bothered by it.  
"Well, I mean its a nice tan. You can tan all you want. Don't stop because of me.".  
"Oh haha-"  
"Well, you can get skin cancer from tanning to often, so I'd practice caution.".  
She smiled and laughed at that one. At first I thought she was laughing at me, but she clarified that when she said, "You're really quiet in class, but that was funny.".

The bell rang, notifying us we were officially late for second period.

Thom tore himself away from Morgann's friend and then said, "Well Don, tell the pretty lady goodbye.". I looked over at Morgann and said, "Seeya next period.". She was about to leave, but then Thom asked Morgann's friend for her number.  
Her friend laughed and told him her number. He saved it into his phone. As this transpired I just looked away awkwardly, trying not to draw attention. I looked back when they were done and said, "You guys done yet, we have class you know?".  
Thom laughed it off and we began walking away. He turned to face Morgann and her friend and yelled, "Call me". I heard her laugh. I looked back to see Morgann wasn't so happy anymore. I couldn't help but wonder if I caused her mood change.  
Thom and I walked through the empty halls to our second class. "Told you", Thom muttered under his breath. "What did you say?", I said in a joking manner. He looked over at me.  
"It's not that hard. I mean you got her number, right?".  
I didn't say anything. He laughed.  
"Oh, Don. Do you still need your training wheels.?".  
"Yeah, because the guy I was supposed to learn everything from died, remember?".  
We walked the halls in silence after that.


	2. Chapter 2

chapter two

Thom and I sat together and tried talking about anything but Keegan, but we kept coming back to the subject. Second period lasted very shortly, the teacher didn't have an assignment and was skyping with her husband. After the bell rang, Thom and I sperated, Thom heading to his third period, and me to mine.  
I couldn't help but remember Morgann was in this class. And Thom wasn't, so if there was any chance of us talking again, it would take a massive amount of luck. And unfortanatly for me, I did have luck. Bad luck.  
As I walked to my third period I was Keegan in the halls, talking with his minions. Keegan was a large guy, so people didn't really question his authority. He was barking orders when his eyes met mine. He pointed at me to his minions, who started howling in delight.   
I quickly made my way down the hall and tried to enter my next class without a confrontation. But before I was ten feet to the door, one of Keegan's friends stepped into my path and smiled.  
"What do you want?", I asked, acting more annoyed than scared. The guy laughed and said, "Keegan's gonna stab you today. I'd watch my back if I were you.". I froze immediatly after that. I couldn't say anything. The guy only smiled more, I could see the malice in his eyes.  
Before he could spout anything else off, Morgann walked up to us. The guy looks to her and immediatly stopped harrassing me. She looked at him, and then to me before she said, "Come on, Donovan. We have class together.".  
She then pulled me by the arm away from the guy and walked us away from him. I turned watch his reaction. It was perfect. His mouth hung open in pure shock. Morgann looked behind us and then put her fingers bewteen mine. I felt a shiver run down my spine from the unexpected move, but I played along. I heard the guy curse himself as we walked into the classroom.  
Morgann immediatly let go of my hand and sat with her friend. I stopped walking, her sudden absence jolting me. I shook it off and walked over to my lone desk. I waited for the class to fill and the second bell to ring. After it did, the teacher walked in the doorway and kept the door open.   
He sat down at his desk and looked up. He said nothing. After an uneasy silence, he asked, "So what's everyone's plans for summer?". The class started buzzing with energy, people talking over each other. Then the teacher, Mr. Brunner said, "Don't tell me, tell your partner. I can't let you do nothing, so talk amoungst yourselves for the period.".  
There was a few groans of anguish, and then Mr. Brunner said hastily, "Oh you guys talk all class anyway, this is nothing.". We laughed and the class began splitting up into pairs.  
Usually at this part, I would just ask to work alone, like I usually did. The teachers didn't mind, I worked better alone, they knew that. I stared at my desk waiting for the shuffling to stop so I could ask for another assignment, but low and behold, Morgann walked to the empty seat next to me.  
I had another rush and began to wonder if she liked me or I was seeing connections that weren't there. She turned to face me.  
"Donovan, what are you staring at?", she said. I snapped into reality after she asked. I was staring at her green eyes, but I said there was a gnat flying somewhere.  
"Oh, weird. Anyway, I heard that guy say Keegan was gonna stab you.", she said. I nodded in confirmation. She became worried.   
"Donovan, you have to tell someone, Keegan isn't a very bright person. He'll probably try to stab you.".  
I didn't say anything. She just stared at me while I stared at the floor. I tell people I do this when I'm thinking, but in reality I just can't make eye contact for very long. Morgann pushed my shoulder to get my attention. I looked up to see her green eyes, now showing concern.  
"Donovan, I don't want you to get hurt.", she said slowly and quietly. I felt bad having made her upset. "I'm fine.", I lied to her. She looked at me with disbelief.  
"Yeah, you're totally fine, Donovan. Being alone all the time is normal".

Her words cut at me like a knife. Not only because they were true, but because I thought Morgann had noticed me at all. It made me angry she would argue for my safety, if she never said anything to me.  
"Don't judge me, okay? You didn't try to help. No one did.", I say. I look up at her expecting another insult, but she looked like she was on the verge of tears. I stopped and grabbed her hand, trying to comfort her.  
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry", I started. She shook her head a little. She maintained her composure before anyone else noticed and continued, "It's just, everyone knows about what happened to you.. But no one really tried to do anything about it. And I feel horrible because I didn't do anything.".  
"It's alright, really.", I said. She started to say something, but then I saw someone outside the classroom, in the hallway. I let her hand go when I realized who.  
It was Keegan, who was walking the halls during class. He held a bathroom pass, but I knew he wasn't going anywhere near the toilets. He saw me in my class and stopped walking.  
I froze and stared at him through the doorway. He glared at me and mimed him stabbing the air in front of him with the bathroom pass. He smiled and laughed silently before walking out of eyesight.  
Morgann looked up to see me staring and looked up to see Keegan walking away. She looked at me.  
"Do you understand now? He's serious.", she asked with a hint of attitude. I shrugged. I wasn't really feeling any emotions at that point. Suddenly, I felt a rolling wave of anxiety hit me. I felt light headed and I felt my lungs grow weaker. My vision began to dim a bit.  
Morgann began to shake me, asking what was wrong. It was a little jary with her shaking me, but I started my breathing exercises and felt the anxiety lifting.  
I put my head on my desk and focused on my inhales and exhales, and then suddenly Morgann grabbed my hand again. I fliched at first but relaxed and let her intertwine her fingers with mine.  
The comforting embrace was enough to calm me down, and suddenly I felt the adrenaline flood my body and I was numb again "Why?", I ask. Morgann squeezes my hand. She then took a breath.  
"Donovan, please. Be careful after school. Avoid them.". She then removed her hand and my fingers suddenly felt colder. She and I sat facing front at the desk for the rest of the class. When the bell rang, I stood up quickly, feeling a rush of confidence.  
"Can I walk you to class?", I asked. I offered Morgann my hand, uncertain if she would take it or walk with her friends. She was surprised with my mood swing, but smiled and took my hand. "Lead the way", she joked.  
Which was actually funny. Because our fourth period was a science class, in the Annex outside. It was a long walk from our current location.  
I squeezed her hand every once in a while as we were walking. I was too wired to talk. Morgann was smiling and then after I squeezed her hand the seventh time, she asked, "Why do you keep doing that?".  
I looked down at my hand and hers, and one thought came to mind.  
"Because I'm afraid you'll slip away from me", I said.  
I couldn't believe what I said. It flowed out like I had practiced that line in the mirror at night. Morgann smiled after I said it. She started laughing and joked around, saying, "That was very smooth".   
I laughed it off. The adrenaline had calmed me down and appearently made me a silver tongue.

We walked the halls and made our way outside of the main building and started for the annex building. Then I had another question for Morgann.  
"Morgann?", I asked. She hummed in response.  
"Why did you hold my hand?", I asked. She slowed her walking pace. I turned to face her. She replied, "Oh, well I needed you to get away from that guy, we needed to talk.".  
"Yeah, but you didn't have to grab my hand, we were already walking away with your hand on my shoulder...", I pointed out. She was obviously trapped there. She replied quickly, "Well I just wanted to make a scene with you. Piss that guy off.".  
"Oh. Oh yeah.", I said. I was hoping she'd say she liked me, so i could tell her. But the feeling wasn't mutual, I guess.

We made it to the annex right after the late bell rang. Morgann and I still took our time getting inside. We entered the classroom and took our assigned seats at the large science desks. Thom was already inside, waiting for me. He saw me walk in and frantically motioned me to sit with him.  
I sat down as he started talking. "Don, okay last period I was in class, and I heard rumors, you hearing 'em too?". I asked what he meant. His face got serious.  
"Don, Keegan is going to stab you after school. He's saying you made him look bad, and he's not ending the year on a sour note.". I took that information in. I sat at the desk trying to figure out a plan when Thom started laughing.  
I looked up to see Morgann and her friend, the same one from earlier, walk over to the table.  
"Can we sit here?", Morgann's friend asks Thom. he smiles and says, "Pull up a chair. Or sit on my lap, whatever...". The girl laughs before sittting across from him. Morgann pulls up a chair across from me. She sits down and looks at me.  
"Hi", I say out of habit. She smiles and then says, "I thought you were past greetings.". Morgann's friend starts laughing and looking at me.  
"I heard about you, Loverboy", she says. I feel hurt and look away, ignoring her. Morgann snaps at her friend.  
"Samantha, shut up! I told you that in confidence.". Samantha continues laughing. She looks over to Thom, who has become serious. Samantha stops laughing and then apologizes to Morgann. Morgann motions over to me.  
"I'm sorry, man.", Samantha says with no enthusiam. I smile and nod, and return to my usual habit of staring into space. I space out for most of the class period, until I hear the teacher telling students to get ready for lunch.  
I snap out of it and realize Morgann and her friend left. I look over to Thom, who says, "I'm sorry she joked like that, Don.". I shrug it off. Thom asks if I'm okay and I don't answer him. The bell rings, and the class floods of the annex for lunch period. As Thom and I leave the annex, I feel my cellphone vibrate in my pocket.  
I check the notification, i had been texted by an unsaved number. They had simply put, "hey". I responded, "Who is this?", before Thom and I walked to the cafeteria. We got in line for lunch and waited. Before we got to the front of the line, a student I didn't knoe walked up to us and asked, "Which one of you is Donovan?".  
Thom points to me, and the guy turns and says, "Keegan is in the gym, talking about how he's gonna get you in the back when you're walking home from school.".  
I reacted very violently.


	3. Explosion of Rage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Donovan's emotional problems get the best of him.

Keegan planned on stabbing me in the back. I didn't like that. Not one bit.  
I tore myself from the line in the cafeteria and left Thom behind as I felt my anger boiling inside me.  
I'd always had an anger problem as a child, but after my father's death it got worse. I developed a hatred for the man who murdered him, and that hate soon turned into a blinding rage against any type of wrongdoer. The therapists and psychologists called it a "Justice Complex".  
And Keegan's plot to attack me when I wasn't expecting it made me insanely angry. My father was stabbed, so I had a fear of being stabbed. But Keegan going for a cheap shot, besides from sounding evil, also sounded like an unworthy demise.  
Thom had began to run after me. He caught up to me and pulled me by the shirt collar. I turned around and snapped at him.  
"What?!", I screamed at him. My tone of voice wasn't very familiar with him, and he was visually shocked.  
"Okay, calm down a bit, Don. But seriously, you're confronting Keegan, now?!".  
I didn't justify his comment with a response. I walked in silence to the gym, with Thom behind me. By the time we'd gotten halfway there, I felt my cellphone vibrate again. I fished around for it in my pocket and looked at the screen.  
"It's Morgann", was all the text message said. The anger inside me momentarily calmed down a bit. Thom looked over at me.  
"What's up?", he asked. I showed him my phone. He looked up at me and a grin spread across his face. "Oh, you liar. You said you didn't get her number!", he yelled in excitement. It was almost enough to make me laugh, but then I remembered something.  
"Thom...I didn't text her, she texted me. How'd she get my number?". He looked puzzled, but then said, "Maybe it was Samantha.". I shrugged. Thom, seeing I was calm, took his opening.  
"Don. You aren't gonna attack Keegan, are you?". I immediatly snapped back into that feeling of intense anger. I sped up my pace. Thom kept up with me.  
"Don, it's still school hours, you can't be fighting.", he protested.  
"It's the last day of school. What's gonna happen? Now shut up, Thom. This is my fight. You can either be on my side, or get the hell outta my way.".  
I surprised myself with that response. Apparently when I'm flooded with emotion, I change drastically.  
Thom said nothing for a second. Then he replied, "You're right. I have your back. Any of his stupid pals try to jump in, he's mine.".  
I smiled at that. As I was going to say something, I realized I hadn't responded to Morgann. I pulled out my phone and texted her as we walked.  
"How did you get my number?", I texted her. She immediatly responded.  
"Sam got it off of Thom.".

I turned to look at Thom. "So where'd Sam get my number, Thom?", I asked with spite in my voice. He looked over at me and said, "Oh come on, Don. I couldn't let you just blow it off with Morgann.".  
"Well what if I was easing into it?", I asked, knowing damn well I was lying to Thom and myself.  
"Don, you're blind. Morgann likes you. If you didn't do anything, she'd think you were uninterested and move on.".  
"Wait, she likes me?", I practically yelled to Thom. But before he could elaborate on his findings, we had gotten to the basketball court. I looked inside.  
Sure enough, Keegan was shooting hoops on one side of the court as a team played a half court game. I got the sense Keegan hadn't asked to use his side of the court.  
The anger I was coasting on had begun to seep back into my mind. I felt my heartbeat quicken its pace as my skin began to feel hot. I glared at Keegan, who had his back turned to me.  
"Don, what're you gonna do?", Thom asked. I didn't say anything. But I had an idea.  
I walked into the basketball court and slowly made my way to Keegan. The entire time I was walking over to him, I couldn't help but think it was ironic. Keegan planned to get the jump on me, but here he was, distracted and his back turned to me.  
My hands began to shake with anticipation. I found my hands balling up into tight fists, ready to inflict damage and pain.  
Thom stood at the doors, watching for any sort of teacher, and making sure Keegan's minions couldn't interrupt anything.  
Keegan was only four feet away from me. His back turned, shooting hoops, not a care in the world. My loathing had suddenly gotten the best of me as I found myself approaching Keegan rapidly.  
He turned just in time to see my right hook flying towards his skull. He jumped back to avoid it.  
"What the hell was that!", he screamed at me, getting the entire court's attention. His raised tone did nothing but make me angrier. I shoved him as hard as I could, sending him off his feet. He fell loudly, the impact echoing in the basketball court.  
Before he had time to pick himself up, I was already upon him. I was on top of him and reeled back another right fist to punch him. He flinched and held his hands up in defense.  
Suddenly, I felt a grip tighten on my wrist. I turned back to see Thom, who gave me a look. I understood him and backed away from Keegan.  
"Getting taken by surprise isn't really fair, is it Keegan?", Thom asked. Keegan's face turned into a expression of anger. But before he said anything, I exploded.  
"The next time you plan on fighting me Keegan, you better not tell everyone your plan to stab me in the back.". Keegan's eyes widened as he realized I knew his plan after school.  
"That's right.", I continued. I leaned towards him.  
"Next time, I won't hesitate to bust your fucking skull open.".  
I stood tall, a feeling of dominance and pride coursing through my body. Thom smiled at Keegan and then led him and I away. We walked out of the court, leaving everyone in silence.


	4. Chapter 4

I couldn't believe what I had just done.  
In a matter of minutes I changed from my usual quiet small self, prone to bullying, to a force of rage. It seemed like all I had to do to make Keegan stop bullying me was standing up for myself once. And I was glad I did.   
Thom was beaming with delight. As we walked out of the basketball court, he was cracking jokes about it.  
"Don, that was sick! You were all business, you didn't let him punk you. I'm proud man, I really am.". It was enough to make me smile.  
"Thanks, man.", was all I said in return. My mind was going a thousand miles an hour about what I had just done, so I couldn't concentrate. Thom and I walked back to the cafeteria, and we ran into Al.   
He was already at a table, nose buried in a book. We sat down with him. He was so wrapped up in his book he didn't notice us until Thom reached over and pulled the book away. Al looked up and was about to say something in protest, but when he saw it was us he relaxed.  
"Hey guys.", he said as Thom handed him back his book. Al put a bookmark in it and set it next to his untouched tray. "What're reading about?", Thom asked him. Al looked at us and hesitated with answering us.  
"What, is it smut?", I asked. Al laughed it off. "No, it's just a fantasy novel.", he said. He continued, "It's basically a story about a clan of warriors who come from different backgrounds, but they're still able to defeat the enemy. It's really cool. The main character is a werewolf.".  
"Werewolf?", Thom cut him off. Al nodded. "Yeah, he's really cool, and he's an amazing warrior. He's been through tons of battles, but still hasn't ever been defeated.".  
"Sounds cool.", I said, trying to join in on the conversation. Thom looked over at me and then suddenly exploded in joy. I knew from his energy he was going to tell Al about what happened between Keegan and I.  
"Oh, man Al, you gotta listen to this.", Thom said. He then looked over to me for my approval to tell the story. I nodded and watched Al's reaction when Thom told him I had Keegan on the ground.   
Al looked over at me like I had rescued babies from a burning building. "What?", I asked, not liking the sudden attention. Al looked starstruck.  
"I'm just...man, how'd it feel?", Al said. Thom looked at me as I tried to find the words.  
Putting Keegan in his place made me feel immensely happy, a true joy I hadn't felt in a while.   
"It was cool", I told Al. He looked like he was expecting more from me, so I added, "It felt amazing.". Which was no lie. Al was going to say something else, but he focused on something behind him. Thom caught on to him first and looked in the same direction.  
"Oh Donnieboy, look who's here.", he said. And I immediatly knew who he was talking about. I turned in my seat to see Morgann and Samantha walking into the cafeteria. Morgann was obviously looking for something, or someone. Her eyes were scanning the cafeteria, searching.  
Thom stood up out of his chair and yelled, "We're over here.". Usually the cafeteria would be filled with voices, but most of the students were either absent or not having lunch in the cafeteria. She heard him and smiled. Samantha and Morgann rushed over to our table, and I knew something was bothering them.  
"What's up?", I asked them. Morgann looked at me and exploded in a rage I had never seen before. It both scared me, and intrigued me. I wondered if she could get anymore appealing.  
"I just heard about what happened with Keegan. What the hell, I told you to get someone's help about it, not confront him yourself!". Thom jumped in our less than private conversation.  
"Hey, Donovan had him pinned on the ground, and scared. Keegan was practically pissing his pants! Morgann, I had to pull him away from Keegan. He can defend himself.".  
Morgann's attitude changed from angry concern to what I believe was fasination.  
"Oh...did you really?", she asked in a tone of voice I couldn't get enough of.   
"Yeah, why?", I asked, turning on the charm, if I had any. I looked over to Thom, who was giving me the look of approval. I turned back to Morgann, who had scooted closer to me.   
"I'm not all helpless, Morgann. I can hold my own, don't worry about me.", i said as I felt a smile creeping across my face. Samantha then chimed in with, "Well, we were about to leave the school for lunch period. Do you guys wanna join us?".   
"Only if Al comes with us.", I said, shocking myself. Sometimes my mouth said things faster than I could think them. Al looked at us, clearly shocked we would include him. Thom shot a look at me like he was impressed with me.  
"If that's not a problem with you guys, of course Thom said, his words practically dripping with swagger. Samantha smiled and said, "Of course not.". I looked over at Morgann and said, "You guys ready?".  
"Oh, we have to put our books up first, but yeah, we can go now.", she said. We all stood from the table and made our way to the cluster of lockers that belonged to Samantha and Morgann.   
Thom snaked his way from Samantha's side to mine. He leaned in and said in a barely audible tone, "I thought you said you didn't know how to talk.". I looked at him to see he was smiling again.  
"It just happened", I said.   
"Told you. It comes naturally.", he said as he made his way back to Samantha's side.  
After the girls had gotten their books put away, Samantha looked back to see Al walking by himself. I noticed he looked kind of out of place, so I asked him, "Hey Al, you good?". He nodded at us, but I knew something was out of place.  
"You know, I've got a cute friend your age, Al. You want me to bring her with us?", Samantha asked. I felt stupid for not figuring it out. Thom and Samantha were hitting it off great, and I guess Al assumed I was with Morgann. Of course he felt out of place. He was third wheeling.  
"Uh, sure...", Al said. I could hear the nerves in his voice. Samantha looked at Thom and I for an answer. "He said yes", Thom said with a hint of annoyance. Samantha leaned against the locker as she called her friend on her phone.  
After a quick phone call, Samantha smiled and said, "She's waiting at the car. Let's go.". She grabbed Thom's hand as we started walking. I found myself next to Morgann and I held out my hand. She smiled and grabbed it.  
It wasn't as shocking as it was the first few times, but I figured I'd broken through the threshold of hand holding. We made our way out to the parking lot. As we neared the car, I noticed it was just a sedan. It wasn't going to seat six people.  
"We have a seating problem.", I said aloud. Everyone then noticed what I was taling about. We stood outside the car, looking like fools. Samantha's friend introduced herself.  
"I'm Sharon.", she said in a dignified manner. We all said our hellos to her. Then Morgann said, "Donovan can ride with me in my car, you guys can take Sam's.". I looked at Morgann in shock. I wasn't expecting that.  
"Sure, you and Loverboy can have the car all to yourselves.", Samantha teased again. Thom laughed out loud at it. Morgann looked at me and asked, "If that's okay with you?". I shrugged.   
Morgann and I made our way to her car, which wasn't too far away. Everyone else loaded up in Sam's car and drove away.   
"Sorry about that.", Morgann said, apologizing for her friend. I laughed. "Really, it's okay.". I looked at her and realized she was blushing. I didn't say anything, but I thought she looked cute. We got into her car. She started it, put it in drive and drove off.  
"So.....", I said. Morgan looked at me after I had paused for a few seconds.  
"What?", she asked.  
"I know Thom gave you my number.".  
"Oh.. yeah he did. I'm sorry if that's weird.".  
"No, no it's okay. It's just that he was trying to get me to ask you for yours.".  
"I see....", she said. Then she added, "Why didn't you?".  
I took a few seconds to find the words. After what seemed like forever I said, "I just didn't think you'd give me it.". She looked over at me with a look on her face.  
"And why's that? You think I'm one of those stuck up popular girls?", she said with hurt in her tone.   
"No, I just figured you were one of those stuck up, popular, pretty girls.", I said trying to make her laugh. It didn't work.   
"I just thought you'd be like, out of my league.", I said. She was silent for a minute or two after that.  
"Is it cool if I put on the radio?".  
"It doesn't work.", she said quickly.   
I felt the mood changing quickly so I asked, "Where we headed?".  
"Sam's house. Her parents are at work now and her brother doesn't get out of school until 4:00.".  
"Oh.", I said. I was taken aback. I didn't realize we were going to her house. Suddenly my phone vibrated, the noise filling the empty car. I pulled my phone out and read the notification. Thom had texted me.  
"Get Some"  
I laughed at it. I practically heard his voice in my head when I read it. I replied, "How's Al doing with Sharon?".  
I waited for the reply. It came back.  
"They're hitting it off faster than you and Morgann.".  
"Oh stfu", I replied. He texted back quicker than expected.  
"Take a picture with her.".

Before I could reply, Morgann asked, "Who are you texting?". I immediatly put my phone face down in my lap. She saw and laughed loudly, filling the car with the beautiful sound.  
"Just Thom. He's being a dickhead.". She smiled at that.  
"Oh really? What's he saying now?".  
"He wants us to take a picture.".  
"What?", she asked, equally confused at it. Then she stopped at a red light. "Take one", she said. I looked at her to see her fixing her hair.  
"What? I have to look good for the camera.", she said, defending herself. I laughed and told her, "You always do".  
I pulled out my phone and turned on the front cam. I held the phone up and adjusted it. I took the picture. I showed it to Morgann, who made sure she looked okay.  
"You look fine.", I said. She handed me back the phone. "Send that to me", she said.  
"Um, okay.", I said. I hurridely sent it to her with a text message that read, "Here ya go.".  
We sat at the red light and watched as yet again, more diesel trucks carrying covered cargo crossed at the light. I pulled out my phone and video taped the trucks for evidence.  
"Why are you recording?", Morgann asked. I looked at her. "Oh, I saw trucks like those earlier today.".  
"This morning?", Morgann asked. I nodded.  
"My dad works with those trucks, or those people", she said. She elaborated, "He doesn't talk much, but he says he works alongside those people.". The light turned to green and we started driving again.  
Soon we were at Samantha's house. Morgann pulled into the garage alongside Samantha's car. I stepped out and looked at the house.  
It was a two story house, anything nicer I'd ever lived in. Thom and Samantha walked into the house together. Al and Sharon walked in behind them. I stood outside, still looking at the house.  
Morgann had already started her way into the house. She looked over at me and yelled at me.  
"You coming in?".


	5. booze n bud

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> they never make it back to school

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here's some drug and alcohol use. Bite me, fool.

"You coming in?", she yelled. I was occupying myself, trying to avoid eye contact. Morgann and I were together, outside of school. In a house. With no adults. I couldn't spell this out anymore clearly.  
I inhaled sharply, the quick burst of cool air dragging me out my sluggish state. "Yeah, I'm just a little tired.", I managed to get out through a yawn. Morgann smiled and said, "Well, follow me.". She walked into the house and I followed her.  
Well, more like watch her walk and barely remain conscious enough to know when to turn to avoid the coffee table. I turn to see everyone except Al sitting around the coffee table.  
"I, I thought we were just going to lunch..", I managed to croak out before realizing how dumb that sounded. I looked over to Thom for advice, who was already snuggled up with Samantha.  
His eyes caught mine and he gave me a simple 'nudge' in the right direction, which was of course sitting next to Morgann. I awkwardly sat down next to her and then asked louder than I meant to, "So what are we waiting for?".  
A general 'shh' was aimed in my direction. Suddenly Al appeared from the kitchen, holding what looked like to be a bong.". My eyes must have lit up, because Morgann laughed and nudged me with her shoulder.  
"It's just weed, Donnie... you smoke, right?".  
Before I had the chance to reply, Thom had the decency to speak up for me.  
"Oh he's smoked a bit, but he's not as big of a pothead as you, Morgann.". I looked over my shoulder at her, and she started blushing.  
"Shut the fuck up, Thomas, God!". She then reached for the bong. Al was standing there the entire time, still fidgety like a little ginger butler. The thought made me laugh. Morgann looked over at me.  
"Don, will you pass the bong?", she asked. I remember looking at her lips, thinking they looked absolutely divine. I shook the thoughts out of my head and grabbed the bong from Al. When I looked at the bong, I wasn't too sure how to use it. Al and Sharon left the room.  
"Oh, do they not smoke?", I asked. Samantha spoke while Morgann packed the bowl with weed.   
"Oh, they don't smoke. Too young. Still little prudes.". Samantha then smiled and in that moment I decided I hated her. Morgann cleared her throat and handed me the bong. "Here, slugger. You get greens.".  
"Greens?", I asked as I grabbed the bong. I stared at the bong for a few seconds before they all realized I didn't know what I was doing. They erupted into laughter.  
Morgann eventually showed me how to hit the bong. My first bong rip was incredible. I swear when I exhaled that first lungful, it billowed out in slow motion.  
I forgot how to pass the bong after my third rip and they gave me a pass in order to get oxygen back in my head. I laid down and felt incredibly calm. Calm enough to sleep, and I did pass out.  
"Hey. Hey, Don. Donnieboy, wake the fuck up!", Thom screamed into my face like a drill seargent, rushing me from sleep. I sat up so quickly I almost got sick and hit Thom in the head.  
"How long was I out?", I asked. I thought I was out for hours, but Thom proved to me it had only been about 24 minutes. I looked around. The girls were gone.  
"Hey, where'd everyone go?", I asked Thom. He smiled and pulled me to my feet. I was disoriented but mainly sober. "Backyard", he said.  
Thom and I stepped outside into the backyard. Samantha's parent's backyard was a lot bigger than mine. They had an inground pool, a trampoline and a large tent set up for Samantha's little brothers. They had a patio and picnic tables. It was clear that her family wasn't finacially struggling.

It was only 12;45 but the sun was already hot. I knew we were gonna be tardy if she showed up back to school, so I just embraced our little getaway as a early start to summer,  
Al and Sharon were sitting with their legs dangling in the pool, Al obviously shy but trying to get himself out there. I looked around for Morgann and Samantha and didn't see them. Before I could ask, Thom somehow answered my question.  
"They're in the tent. Come on.".

*******  
I followed Thom through the yard and passed Al and Sharon into the tent. I noticed Al had a red solo cup next to him. I immeadiatly knew it was liquor. And I wasn't nervous.  
I'd been stealing swigs from the bottle since I was 14. So when we entered the tent and Samantha handed me the cup, I knew what i was doing.  
"Hand me the Vodka".  
Everyone in the tent laughed. Morgann looked at me and asked, "You drink?". I poured myself some vodka and sat down in the tent and took a few drinks. "Yeah, I might.". Morgann laughed her ass off at that.  
We drank in the tent for about half an hour before I got ballsy enough to ask for the bong. Thom reached over and put his hand on my shoulder. "Naw, you passed out on the last bowl.".  
"Everyone passes out, let him smoke again.", Morgann said in my defense. I looked over and held up my cup in a drunken cheers. She laughed and we clashed the cups together.  
"Yours is empty!", she yelled at me in drunken stupor. "Well, gimme yours then.", I said. Before we could go on, I noticed the bong was being loaded. I sat there like a toddler until Thom was finished.  
"Greens", I said with matter of factly.  
"No, you got Greens last time.", Thom said. He pulled the bong to his lips. "I got next.", i yelled out in drunk idiocraty.  
"Deuces", Morgann said. I quickly mumbled out what she said. Thom cleared the bong and then handed it to me. I lit the bowl and quickly ripped it, filling my chest with smoke. I held it and passed the bong to Morgann, who was all smiles.  
"Smokin' like a pro..", she said smoothly.. I tried to say thank you but the smoke rushed from my lungs into her face. She squinted and laughed it off. We ended up passing the bong until it was spent and we went back to drinking.  
**********  
I don't remember when I exactly blacked out, but then suddenly I was in the house playing the xbox. I suddenly snapped back into consciousness and looked over to see Morgann was playing on a laptop in the corner of the room.  
"Whoa.", was all i could say.  
The darkness of the room combined with the luminoscity of the laptop screen made her look almost holy, her eyes sparkling along with the displays on the screen. She was concentrating fiercely, which made her look ever more attractive.  
She looked up at me and smiled. "Having fun?". I had a little difficulty responding and realized I was both drunk and still high. I nodded. I looked up at the tv screen and realized I was playing a Dragonball Z game. I had no recollection of picking the game.  
"You wanted to play the game but you weren't accepting any help. You sat there until I opened the case for you.".  
"I usually don't drink as much.", was all I could say in my defense. She laughed. I saw the laptop and asked, "So what're you upto?".  
"Just catching up on Skyrim".  
"You play Skyrim?!", I nearly shouted.

After a brisk half hour conversation over Skyrim, I found out that Morgann is a huge gamer. We left the room and sat down in the living room with everyone. Thom looked at me and gave me a quick look. I knew what he was insinuating, but I shook my head.  
Al and Sharon were tipsy, and suddenly Al checked the time on his phone. "Hey guys, it's almost time to go home.". We all simeotaneausly checked our phones and started getting ready to be dropped off.  
We all loaded up back into the cars and headed on our ways home. Samantha was going to drop off Thom, and Morgann was dropping off me. Al and Sharon rode the bus home. Samantha drove in front of us while Morgann and I tailed the back.   
Samantha had gotten bad directions from her GPS and we had to turn around, and we happened to drive by the Mall and we saw yet again, a third convoy of those huge tarp covered cargo chests.  
This time we saw the trucks park behind the old mall, and military men step out and stand in a group, talking. Samantha tried to slow down to see more, but I guess Thom spoke some sense into her, because she nearly floored it and we left.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wait til next week, alien sex!


End file.
